US President-elect Donald Trump meets with Cabinet hopefuls

US President-elect Donald Trump on Monday met with Cabinet hopefuls at his Manhattan office tower.

Trump met with Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin, Democratic US Representative Tulsi Gabbard and former Texas Governor Rick Perry. But he announced no further appointments, keeping candidates and the public guessing about the shape of the administration that will take office on Jan. 20.

Fallin, Gabbard and Perry were the latest of dozens of officials who have made their way across the opulent lobby of Trump Tower for talks with the Republican president-elect in a relatively open - and unconventional - transition process since his election victory on November 8.

'WE'VE GOT TO GET IT RIGHT'
Trump has so far picked two Cabinet members and three top White House advisers, but aides said he was not expected to make further announcements on Monday. "They could come this week, they could come today, but we're not in a rush to publish names," Kellyanne Conway, a senior adviser, told reporters. "We've got to get it right."

Trump spoke often with reporters camped out at his New Jersey golf course over the weekend, but has not held a traditional news conference to talk about his priorities. He held an off-the-record meeting with a group of television anchors and executives on Monday afternoon and was scheduled to meet with print media representatives on Tuesday.

The Washington Post reported that four participants at Monday's meeting described it as a contentious but generally respectful session. They told the Post that Trump singled out reporting of his campaign by CNN and NBC that he considered to be unfair.

Trump also returned to Twitter on Monday night, saying "many people" would like to see Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage as British ambassador to the United States.

Farage, who helped lead the successful referendum fight for Britain to leave the European Union (EU), spoke at a Trump rally during the US campaign and visited the president-elect after his victory.

Trump's first meeting on Monday was with Iraq war veteran Gabbard, a representative from Hawaii who backed US Senator Bernie Sanders in his unsuccessful 2016 Democratic presidential nominating contest against Hillary Clinton.

The "frank and positive" discussion focused on the war in Syria, counter-terrorism and other foreign policy issues, Gabbard said in a statement. She did not say whether a Cabinet role was part of the discussion.

Gabbard has veered from Democratic Party positions at times, backing policies cracking down on immigration to the United States (US) by Muslims.

Fallin told reporters she was not offered a position but discussed "a wide range of topics" with Trump. The Republican governor's spokesman said that included a focus on the Interior Department, an agency whose responsibilities include oversight of oil and gas leases on public lands.

Former Republican US Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts told reporters he had a "great" meeting about veterans' issues with Trump.

Trump also met with former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich and Elaine Chao, the US labor secretary under former President George W Bush, advisers said. Trump's transition team said Perry, the former Texas governor, was being considered for Cabinet posts including defence, energy and veterans affairs.

Trump, a New York businessman who has never previously held public office and who was the surprise winner over Clinton in November, has so far named senior leaders of his national security and law enforcement teams.

In addition to Jeff Sessions, they are US Representative Mike Pompeo of Kansas as CIA director, and retired Army Lieutenant General Michael Flynn as White House national security adviser. For Thanksgiving, Trump planned to travel on Tuesday to Mar-a-Lago, a golf resort he owns in Florida, a spokesman said.